Sod trimming and marking device.



No. 855,844. PATENTED JUNE 4,1907.

W. FOSTER.

SOD TRIMMING AND MARKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.17,1906.

i 7 766a. /E 5 1X lmeaaeo a w! 7 011 fo'al'erf IVILLIAM FOSTER,

or HIGBY, onro.

SOD TRIIVIIVIING AND MARKING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application. filed December 1'7, 1906. Serial No. 848,159.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FOSTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Higby, in the county of Ross and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sod Trimming and Marking Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a sod trimming and marking device adapted for use upon railroads and constructed in such manner as to maintain the earth at the end of the ties, at a given angle. 1

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of the character described having a leveling attachmentwhich is adapted to level off the portion of the roadbed upon which the sod is to be laid prior to the laying of said sod.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which now follows.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is an end elevation of a hand car illustrating the invention attached thereto, Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of a removable leveling blade hereinafter described, Fig. 4 is a detail view of a plate to which a trimming and marking device is connected, Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the trimming disk and the box in which it is mounted, Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of said box and disk, and, Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the end of a triangular frame hereinafter described. 1

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the top of an ordinary hand car and 6 the wheels upon which said hand car is mounted.

7 designates the rails and 8 the ties of an ordinary railroad. track.

It is designed to attach the elements comprising the present invention to a hand car in such manner that as the hand car passes over the track, the earth adjacent the sides of the track may be leveled for the reception of sod, or said sod may be trimmed or the earth may be marked to indicate the line to which said sod is to be laid, or the device may be used to scrape the dirt and gravel up toward the end of the ties, for it is a well known fact that this dirt and gravel tends to wash away from the end of the ties and to fall down upon the sod.

In securing the elements comprising the present invention, to a hand car, I employ supports comprising horizontal arms 9, the outer ends of which are downturned as at 10 and have a series of openings 11 formed therethrough. The forward downturned arm 11 is connected by a brace 12 to the under side of the hand car 5. A triangular frame which is formed of bars 13, 14 and 15 has an inwardly projecting forward end 16 which carries a pintle 17, said pintle engaging in one of the openings 11. A pin 18 is passed through the end 19 of the bar 15 and through one of the openings 11 of the rear supporting arm 10, this construction serving to hinge the triangular frame to the members 10. A plate 20 is secured by bolts 21 at the juncture of the bars 14 and 15. A boxing 22 is provided with perforated ears 23 and 24. A bolt 25 passes through the ear 23 and through an opening 26 of the plate 20, thereby pivoting the boxing 22 to the under side of this plate. A second bolt 27 passes through the curved slot 28 of the plate 20 and is adapted to engage in the opening 29 of the ear 24. lVhen this bolt is loosened, the boX- ing 22 may be swung at an angle to the plate 26. The shaft 30 of a cutting and marking disk 31 is mounted in the boxing 22 and is held therein by a cap 32.

Hinged to the rear face of the arm 15 as at 33 are arms 34 and 35, the arm 34 being longer than the arm 35, said arms being connected at their rear ends 36 with a scraping blade 37. The result of securing this scraping blade to the free ends of these arms being to dispose said scraping blade at such an angle as to scrape the dirt and gravel up toward the ties. A lever 39 adapted to be held in any adjusted position by a segment 40 of the usual construction, is pivoted as at 41 to a rearward extension 42 of the bar 13. This lever has an arm 43 which engages beneath the arm 34. It will therefore be seen that when the lever 39 is thrown forward, the arm 34 and consequently the blade 37 will be lifted from the ground. A handle 44 is carried by the bar 15 and a chain 45 which is connected to this handle is adapted to engage over a hook 46 carried by the hand car.

A scraping blade 47 which is provided with a shank 48 is adapted to be secured to the under side of the bar 15, said blade being disposed at such an angle as to scrape the dirt away from the ties.

The operation of the device is as follows: It is customary upon some railroads to form an inclined surface adjacent each end of the ties, which extends from the ends of the ties to what is called the sod line, this sod line being a strip of sod disposed in a horizontal plane and extending parallel with the track at some distance therefrom. The purpose of forming this sod line, is to prevent the gravel and earth from washing away from the ties, the sod forming what is practically a small embankment which is not affected by the rain. Before this sod is placed in position, the apparatus comprising the present invention is run over the road. At this time the disk 31 marks the sod line indicating to the section hands the point to which the sod is to be laid. During this operation, the blade 47 is secured in the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the lower edge of this blade lying horizontal at this time and serving to level off the surface upon which the sod is to be laid. At this time the blade 37 lies at the angle shown in Fig. 2, and levels off the inclined surface between the ties and the sod line, as well as scraping the earth and gravel up toward the end of the ties. After the apparatus has been run over the road as described, the sod is placed in position. After the sod has been placed in position, the blade 47 is removed, after which the blade 37 and the disk 31 will be utilized to keep the roadbed in order. It is necessary after the sod has been laid, to keep the sod line trimmed and also to keep the gravel up against the end of the ties. The cutting disk serves to trim the sod line and by setting said cutting disk at the proper angle, the sod trimmed off will be drawn away from the sod that remains. The inclined. blade then coming along behind the disk, will catch the clipped-oil portions of the sod, as well as any dirt or gravel that has been washed down and draw the dirt and gravel and the clipped-off portions of the sod up toward the end of the ties. The handle 44 provides means for throwing the hinged frame to a vertical position when passing through tunnels or over bridges, the operator upon the car grasping this handle and drawing it over toward the car. The operator may cause the triangular frame and consequently the blade 37 to assume any position by hooking any desired link of the chain 45 over the hook 46.

From. the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple and efficient means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention, but while the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth, but includes within its purview such changes as may he made within the scope of the ap pended claims.

What I claim, is:

1. In a sod trimming and marking device, the combination with a car, of supports carried by said car, a frame hinged to said supports, means for vertically adjusting said frame at said hinged connection, and a scraping blade hinged to said frame which lies at an angle to the car.

2. In a sod trimming and marking device, the combination with a car, of supports carried by said car, a frame hinged to said supports, means for vertically adjusting said frame at said hinged connection, a scraping blade hinged to said frame which lies at an angle to the car, and a sod trimming disk carried by said frame.

3. In asod trimming and marking device, the combination with a car, of supports car ried by said car, a frame hinged to said supports, means for vertically adjusting said frame at said hinged connection, a scraping blade hinged to said frame which lies at an angle to the car, a sod trimming disk carried by said frame, and a sod line leveling blade carried by the hinged frame which. projects beyond the cutting disk, the scraping blade being adapted to scrape earth toward the ends of the device and the sod line leveling blade being adapted to scrape earth in the opposite direction.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a car, of supports carried by said car, a triangular frame hingedly connected to said supports, means for vertl- 'cally adjusting said triangular frame at its point of connection with said. supports, a pair of arms hingedly connected to the rear of said frame, means for elevating said arms, and a scraper blade connected to the free ends of said arms. V

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM FOSTER.

Witnesses:

JAs. O. FOSTER, J. H. Hie-BY. 

